Pottstown Mercury, August 6, 2009, Thursday

Pottstown Mercury

August 6, 2009, Thursday

Pottstown Mercury

Union workers need more protection

In my job, I see the bravery on regular people's faces as they try to make ends meet day in and out. As a nurse, I see families deal with an injury, an accident, or some other disaster that people have to face every day.

I see that we need some help to create an economy that works for people, so that when hardships happen, we have the strength to deal with them.

In Pennsylvania alone, many are unemployed, and the only jobs left are the Wal-Mart type jobs that offer no job security and no benefits. A large number of people in Pennsylvania are currently without health insurance.

And even the insured are foregoing medical tests, treatment, and prescription medications because of high premiums and other costs.

We watch as CEOs who ran their companies into the ground get golden parachutes while the workers lose their jobs. Things are out of whack - families are shouldering the burden while corporations walk away relatively unscathed.

As a nurse, I know I can do my job because I have the support I need. I don't have to worry about finding health care for my own family.

And the reason is because I and my coworkers bargain together as a union for higher wages, benefits, and better working conditions.

But most people aren't that lucky. Most experience intimidation, coercion, and even firing when they want to form a union. According to polling, 60 million people would choose to form a union today if they could, but too few ever get that chance because U.S. labor law is too weak to help them.

In Pennsylvania, unions strengthen the economy by lifting wages and living standards through union contracts.

According to government statistics, workers with union representation are 52 percent more likely to receive health care at work, they are far more likely to have pensions and they earn 30 percent more on average than those without a union.

Today, if a group of employees wants to form a union, corporations force them through a company-dominated process, where employers have total access to and power over employees. According to a report by Dr. Kate Bronfenbrenner from Cornell University, one in four companies illegally fires workers that stand in support of the union.

More than three quarters of supervisors conduct one-on-one meetings with employees to encourage them to vote "no" on the union.

Some even use electronic spying equipment to determine which workers support the union. Over 50 percent of employers tell workers that if they unionize, the workplace will close.

The Employee Free Choice Act is legislation pending before Congress that gives back to workers the freedom to form and join unions.

The Employee Free Choice Act allows workers, rather than the company, to choose how to form their union, and stiffens the penalties on companies who break the law during the unionization process.

According to Dr. Bronfenbrenner's research, 52 percent of newly-formed unions don't have a contract after a year of bargaining, and after two years, one in three still don't have a contract.

The Employee Free Choice provides a system for good faith bargaining with corporations and gives workers a path to better wages and benefits through getting a contract.

I know firsthand the benefits unions bring to my family and I believe that our community would be better served by a system that restores balance in our workplaces.

It's clear that protecting working people's freedom to form unions is the best way to guarantee livable wages, health care benefits, and retirement security to working people. As a result, it is also the best way to strengthen and expand the middle class.

As a healthcare professional, I support the Employee Free Choice Act, which would bring democracy back to our workplaces and give working Pennsylvanians a better chance to get ahead.

Let's invest in a stronger economy for our communities by protecting the rights of everyday working people and passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

DONNA BERNHARD, RN

Gilbertsville

Suburban General Hospital